It’s the End of the World in the First Eerie ‘AHS: Apocalypse’ Teaser

Who knew ghost stories and stylish witches would give way to the end of the world? As we’ve wondered just how the subtitle of American Horror Story‘s next season, Apocalypse, will fit in with the Murder House and Coven crossover theme, a new teaser has arrived to prove that it’s actually very literal. The end is indeed coming.

The first teaser features some typically ominous imagery. There’s a fetus connected to a beating heart that turns into a nuclear bomb; there’s lots of skulls filling up an hour glass; and that same freaky hand in serious need of a manicure is back. We saw it initially in artwork for AHS: Roanoke, and again in the new Apocalypse art.

Executive producer Alexis Martin Woodall teased a few more details at the TCA press tour last Friday (via Variety), revealing that the eighth season “begins with the end of the world and then our world begins.” So Apocalypse is essentially a Ryan Murphy fantasy of what happens after doomsday, and as Sarah Paulson confirmed, that subtitle reflects “the apocalypse in the truest sense of the word.”

In the new season, Paulson’s Cordelia will still be the Supreme, as she was at the end of Season 3’s Coven, but she teased that it won’t last for long. She’ll also be playing Billie Dead Howard from Murder House (and Roanoke), in addition to a mystery third character. The most exciting news is that Jessica Lange will finally return to AHS after leaving the show following Season 4’s Freak Show. She’ll reprise her Constance Langdon from Murder House, likely alongside her now-grown grandson Michael, aka the Antichrist, to be played by Cody Fern. AHS: Apocalypse premieres on FX on September 12.